Air outlet device for ventilating apparatus



AIR OUTLET DEVICE FOR VENTILATING APPARATUS June 3, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed April 19, 1956 June 3, 1958 E. GODES AIR OUTLET DEVICE FORVENTILATING APPARATUS Filed April 19, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR gunAIR OUTLET DEVICE FOR VENTILATING APPARATUS E. GODES June 3, 1958 FiledApril 19,

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States atent O AIR OUTLET DEVICE FOR VENTILATINGAPPARATUS Elliot Godes, Manchester, Conn., assignor to AnemostatCorporation of America, New York, N. 1., a corporation of DelawareApplication April 19, 1956, Serial No. 579,364 11 (Ilaims. c1. 98-40)This invention relates to air outlet devices for ventilating apparatus,and has particular reference to means for controlling flow of supply airthrough such devices.

At certain times it may be desirable to deliver warm air through an airoutlet device into a room or other enclosure for the purpose of heatingthe latter, while at other times it may be desirable to deliver fresh orcool air through the same air outlet device into the room or otherenclosure for the purpose of ventilating or cooling the same. Moreover,with respect to certain air outlet devices through which either warm airfor heating purposes or cool air for cooling or ventilating purposes isdelivered at different times into a room or other enclosure, it may bedesirable to have warm air flow therefrom in one direction and to havecool air flow therefrom in a different direction. For example, in thecase of an air outlet device of a type which is designed to be mountedin a side wall or baseboard of a room or other enclosure and throughwhich warm air for heating purposes or cool air for cooling purposes isdelivered at different times, it usually is desirable to have the warmair flow more or less downwardly therefrom and to have the cool air flowmore or less upwardly therefrom, thereby best either to heat or to coolthe room or enclosure as the case may be.

Generally speaking, the object of the present invention is to provide anair outlet device comprising two different portions which are designedto cause supply air flowing therethrough to be deflected in differentdirections, respectively, from the device, and which includes a pair ofdamper elements respectively controlling flow of supply air through saidportions so that either portion may be used to the exclusion ofthe,other for flow of supply air therethrough and so that the amount ofsupply air flowing through either portion may readily be regulated.

More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide a single,simple, practical, eflicient actuating or operating means for theaforesaid damper elements.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple, practical hingeconnections between the damper elements and the device to mount thedamper elements for swinging adjustmentsto control flow of supply airthrough the aforesaid different portions of the device.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists inan air outlet device embodying the novel features of construction,combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts in the different views:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an air outlet device constructed inaccordance'with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the device.

. V Fig. 4 is a section taken approximately on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section taken approximately on the line 5'5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the device.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the damper-actuating slide plate-of thedevice.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of one of thedamper elements of the device; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of onset the trunnion elements for hingingthe damper elements to the device.

The air outlet device illustrated by way of example in the drawings isof a type which is designed to be mounted in a side wall or in abaseboard of a room or other enclosure and is composed of a firstpan-like hollow, flaring member 10, a second, smaller, pan-like, hollow,flaring member 11 disposed within said first member 10, and a third,pan-like, hollow, flaring'member 12 disposed within said second member11.

The members 19, 11 and 12 each include side and end walls 13 and 14,respectively, which are spaced apart and which are inclined or flaredforwardly andoutwardly to provide between them forwardly and outwardlyinclined or flared side and end passageways a and b, respectively, whilein the rear Walls 15 of the members 10 and 11 are alined openings 16 and17, respectively, to provide for flow of supply air from the rear of thedevice through said passageways a and b.-

The openings 16 in the rear wall of the member Ill are separated by anarrow width portion 18 of said wall which extends centrally andlongitudinally of the device. At one side of said portion 18 thesidewalls of the-members 1t 11 and 12 are inclined forwardly andoutwardly in one direction, while at the other side of said portion 18the side Walls of said members 10, 1-1 and 12 are inclined forwardly andoutwardly in a reverse direction. Therefore, suppiy air delive ed fromthe rear of the device through the openings 16 and 1-7 at one side ofthe portion 18 will be deflected from the device in one direction,upwardly for example, while supply air delivered from the rear of thedevice through the openings 16 and 17 at the other side of said portion18 will be deflected from the device in a diflFerent direction,downwardly for example. Of course, in either case a certain amount ofsupply air will be deflected forwardly and outwardly through thepassageway b at the ends-of the device. This, however, is immaterial andmay be ignored as far as the present invention is concerned,particularly since, within the purview of the invention, the side walls13 of the members 11 and 12 may be coextensive in length with the sidewalls 13 of the member 10 so that all supply air delivered through thedevice flows only through the side passageways a of the device.

At the rear of the member 10 are two damper elements 19 and 20 which aresubstantially coextensive in length with the rear wall 15 ofsaid'memberand which have widths approximately one-half the width of therear wall of said member 10. These damper elements are hinged alongtheir outer side edges to outer side portions of the rear wall 15 of themember 10 for swinging movements between closed positions in which theylie flatly against the rear wall of the member 10 and open positions inwhich they are inclined rearwardly from the rear wall of said member 10.

Obviously, when both of the damper elements 19 and 20 are closed, allflow of supply air through the device will be denied. Obviously, too, ifeither of said damper elements is opened while the other is maintainedclosed, supply air will flow through only one side of the device.

Simple, practical actuating means is provided for operating the damperelements 19 and 20. In the rear wall 15 of the member 10 near one endthereof is a slot 21 which extends transversely of said rear wall, whileslidably engaged against the rear face of said rear wall 15 i v adjacentto said slot 21 are flanges or runners 22 at the has fastened thereto aknob or handle 25 which is exposed a at the front of the device forfinger engagement. Between the knob, or handle 25 and the front face ofthe rear wall 15 of the member 10 is interposed a leaf spring 26 whichreacts from said wall 15 to urge the plate 23 forwardly. The tongue 24extending through the'slot 21 guides the plate 23 for sliding movementtransversely of the device, while the leaf spring 26 serves to maintainthe flanges or runners 22 of said plate firmly though slidably engagedagainst the rear face of the rear wall 15 of the member 10 and thusprevents any looseness or play between said plate and said rear wall 15.By means of the knob or handle 25 the plate 23 may readily he slidtransversely of the device. 7 V

In the plate 23 are two cam slots 27, 27 which are reversed duplicatesof one another and each of which comprises a portion 28 extendingparallel to the rear wall 15 of the member 10 and an inwardly inclinedportion 29 extending rearwardly from the inner end of said portion 28.

Corresponding ends of the damper elements 19 and 2 are disposed adjacentto the plate 23 and have pins 30, 30 extending therefrom into the camslots 27, 27, respectively. The spacing of the pins 30, 30 from thepivotal axes of'the damper elements 19 and 20 and the relationships of'the cam slots 27, 27 to each other and to said pins and to the pivotalaxes of said damper elements are such that when the plate 23 isdisposedin a medial position as regards its sliding movement, the pins 30, 30are disposed adjacent tothe inner ends of the portions 28, 28 of theslots 27, 27, respectively, and both damper elements 19 and 20 areclosed. Hence, by sliding the plate 23 in one direction from its medialposition, the rearwardly and inwardly inclined portion 29 of one of thecam slots 27 will cooperate with the pin 30 of one of the damperelements 19 or 20 to effect opening swinging movement of said damperelement. At the same time the other damper element will be maintainedclosed due to its pin 30 remaining in the portion 28 of its related slot27. Similarly, by sliding the plate 23 in the opposite direction fromits medial position, the first mentioned damper element will bemaintained closed and the second mentioned damper element will beopened. Depending upon the amount of sliding movement imparted to theplate 23, either damper element 19 or 20 may, of course, be opened anydesired amount to regulate the amount of supply air flowing through thedevice, while by returning the plate 23 to its medial position bothdamper elements will, of course, be closed to deny any flow of supplyair through the device.

Since,'when either of the damper elements 19 or 20 is closed and theother of said damper elements is'open, supply air can flow through onlyone side of the device, and since each side portion of the device servesto cause supply air flowing therethrough to be deflected from the devicein a direction different from the direction of deflection of supply airfrom the other side portion of the device, it is apparent that simply byslidably adjusting the plate 23 the direction of deflection of supplyair from the device is selective, upwardly, for example, in the case ofcool air and downwardly, for example, in the case of warm air.

While the damper elements 19 and 20 may be hinged to the member in anysuitable known manner, novel means is provided according to the presentinvention for this purpose. Along its outer edge each damper element isprovided with a stiffening and reinforcing rib 31 of 4 v substantiallysemi-circular shape in cross section which opens rearwardly and whichhas its front orconvex face disposed against the rear face of the rearwall 15 of the member 10. At suitably spaced points said rib is providedwith recesses 32 and in each recess is disposed an element 33 which iswelded or otherwise suitablyfixed to the rear wall 15 of the member 10and which is provided at its ends with trunnions 34 which are disposedin the concave side of said rib at either end of the recess 32. Thehinge connections thus provided between the damper elements 19 and 29are quite simple and easy and economical to provide.

From the foregoing description considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it is believed that the construction andoperation of the invention will be clearly understood and its advantagesappreciated. is desired to point out, however, that while only a singlespecific structural embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, the same is readily capable of various specifically differentstructural embodiments within its spirit and scope as defined in theappended claims; a

I claim: 1. An air outlet device having rear and front ends andcomprising a first portion including air passageway defining meansextending between said ends and formed to cause supply air flowingforwardly therethrough to be deflected in one direction from the frontend of the device and a second portion including air passageway definingmeans extending between said ends and formed to cause supply air flowingforwardly therethrough to be deflected in a difiercnt direction from thefront end of the device, a pair of damper upon the device at its rearend and controlling flow of supply air through said portions,respectively, an actuator for said damper elements mounted on the devicefor lineal shifting movements, and connections between said actuator andsaid damper elements operable in response to shifting of said actuatorlineally in one direction first fully to close one and then to effectany desired'amount of opening of the other of said damper elements andoperable in response to shifting of said actuator lineally in theopposite direction first fully to close the second and then to effectany desired amount of opening of the first of said damper elements.

2. An air outlet device having rear and front ends and comprising afirst portion including'air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in one direction from the front end of the device and asecond portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to'cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in a different direction from the front end of thedevice, a pair of damper elements swingably mounted upon the device atits rear. end and controlling flowof supply air through said portions,respectively, an actuator for said damper elements mounted on the devicefor lineal shifting movements, and cam and cam follower connectionsbetween said actuator and said damper elements operable in response toshifting of said actuator lineally in one direction to open one and toclose the other of said damper elements and operable in response toshifting of said actuator lineally in the opposite'direction to closethe first and to open the second of said damper elements.

3. An air outlet device having rear and front ends and comprising afirst portion including air passageway defining means extending-betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in one direction from the front end of the device and asecond portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed tocause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in a diiferent direction from the front end of thedevice,

a pair of damper elements swingably mounted upon the 7 It f elementsswingably mounted gse'mm damper elements mounted or. the device forlineal shifting movements, and cam and cam follower connections betweensaid actuator and said damperelements operable in response to shiftingof said actuator lineally in one direction first fully to close one andthen to effect any desired amount of opening of the other of said damperelements and operable in response to shifting of said actuator lineallyin the opposite direction first fully to close the second and then toeffect any desired amount of open ing of the first of said damperelements.

4. An air outlet device having rear and front ends and comprising afirst portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in one direction from the front end of the device and asecond portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in a diflerent direction from the front end of thedevice, a pair of damper elements swingably mounted upon the device atits rear end and controlling flow of supply air through said portions,respectively, an actuator for said damper elements mounted on the devicefor lineal shifting movements, and having a pair of cam slots therein,and cam followers carried by said damper elements and disposed in saidcam slots, respectively, said cam slots being shaped and dimensioned sothat by shifting of said actuator lineally in one direction theycooperate with said cam followers to close one and open the other ofsaid damper elements and so that by shifting of said actuator lineallyin the opposite direction they cooperate with said cam followers to openthe first and to close the second of said damper elements.

5. An air outlet device having rear and front ends and comprising afirst portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in one direction from the front end of the device and asecond portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in a different direction from the front end of thedevice, a pair of damper elements swingably mounted upon the device atits rear end and controlling flow of supply air through said portions,respectively, an actuator for said damper elements mounted on the devicefor lineal shifting movements, and having a pair of cam slots therein,and cam followers carried by said damper elements and disposed in saidcam slots, respectively, said cam slots being shaped and dimensioned sothat by shifting of said actuator lineally in one direction theycooperate with said cam followers first to fully close one and then toopen the other of said damper elements any desired amount and so that byshifting of said actuator lineally in the opposite direction theycooperate with said cam followers first to fully close the second andthen to open the first of said damper elements any desired amount.

6. An air outlet device having rear and front ends and comprising afirst portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in one direction from the front end of the device and asecond portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in a different direction from the front end of thedevice, a pair of damper elements mounted upon the device at its rearend and movable between open and closed positions to control flow ofsupply air through said portions, respectively, and an actuator for saiddamper elements mounted upon the device and having operative connectionswith the latter constructed and arranged so that in a medial position ofsaid actuator both damper elements are closed and so that by movementofsaid actuator from its medial position either of said'damper elementsmay be opened any desired amount without opening the other of saiddamper elements.

7. An air outlet device having rear and front ends and comprising afirst portion including air passageway defining means extendingbetweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in one direction from the front end of the device and asecond portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in a different direction from the front end of thedevice, a pair of damper elements mounted upon the device at its rearend and movable between open and closed positions to control flow ofsupply air through said portions, respectively, an actuator for saiddamper elements mounted upon the device for shifting movements from amedial position, and cam and cam follower connections between saidactuator and said damper elements constructed and arranged so that in amedial position of said actuator both damper elements are closed and sothat by movement of said actuator from its medial position either ofsaid damper elements may be opened any desired amount without openingthe other of said damper elements.

8. An air outlet device as set forth in claim 6 in which the actuator ismounted upon the device for lineal shifting movements.

9. An air outlet device as set forth in claim 7 in which the actuator ismounted upon the device for lineal shifting movements,

10. An air outlet device having rear and front ends and comprising afirst portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in one direction from the front end of the device and asecond portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in a different direction from the front end of thedevice, a pair of damper elemnts swingably mounted upon the device atits rear end and controlling flow of supply air through said portions,respectively, a rear portion of said device having a slot therein, alineally movable actuator for said damper elements slidably engagedagainst said rear portion of the device and having a portion thereofextending through said slot to guide said actuator for lineal movements,a finger engageable element for moving said actuator carried by saidportion of said actuator and exposed at the front end of the device, andconnections between said actuator and said damper elements constructedand arranged so that in a medial position of said actuator both damperelements are closed and so that by movement of said actuator from itsmedial position either damper element may be opened any desired amountwithout opening the other of said damper elements.

ll. An air outlet device having rear and front ends and comprising afirst portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in one direction from the front end of the device and asecond portion including air passageway defining means extending betweensaid ends and formed to cause supply air flowing forwardly therethroughto be deflected in a different direction from the front end of thedevice, a pair of damper elements swingably mounted upon the device atits rear end and controlling flow of supply air through said portions,respectively, an actuator for said damper elements mounted on the devicefor lineal shifting movements, said actuator comprising a plate having apair of cam slots therein, and cam followers carried by said damperelements and disposed in said cam slots, respectively, said cam slotseach being of sub- 7 stanti-ally L-shape so that in response to linealshifting of said actuator in one direction one of said damper elementsis closed and the other may be opened any desired amount and so that inresponse to lineal shifting of said actuator in the opposite directionthe second ofsaid damper elements is closed and the first damper elementmay he opened any desired amount.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS tLenling June 30, 1914 Wickware Jan. 19, 1926 Rodemich et a1. Dec. 27,1932 Sternberg July 18, 1944 A De R00 Feb. 13,

